


Let’s Do This One Last Time

by cha_teau



Category: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018)
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Hurt/Comfort, I am so sorry, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, References to Depression, Suicidal Thoughts, Suicide Attempt, mild hamnoir if you squint i guess, peter benjamin and noir are like separate people, peter benjamin feels things noir wouldn’t dare express
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-02
Updated: 2019-01-24
Packaged: 2019-10-03 05:05:18
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,250
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17277605
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cha_teau/pseuds/cha_teau
Summary: In which Peter Benjamin Parker wants to feel any emotion, any at all, and goes to extreme lengths to do so.Peter B Parker and Peter Porker go to find their Monochrome friend and find something much, much worse.





	1. The One Where The Apartment Is Grey

**Author's Note:**

> I was too lazy to edit this anymore, yikes.

Throughout his lifetime, Peter Benjamin Parker had taken up a… very strange habit.. before they had gotten to know each other better, he thought everyone else in the spider-group had done something like this to get them by. Like he would burn matches. And other… things. He had only assumed that, with the loss that everyone in the group had experienced, that they may have just been through the same suffering as he had. That they may have used the same methods as him to get through the day. But it became increasingly clear that that was not the case. Everyone else seemed happy, full of emotion. Full of color. Full of life. They’d moved on.

Sadly, in a world made up of purely monotone shades, emotion never existed in Peter’s mind. After the events of whatever happened with that collider-gizmo, Peni had worked out a way to visit each other’s dimensions for short periods of time, so they had organized a day out of each week to meet up in Miles’ dimension to watch movies and chat with one another. They took turns choosing the movies, and this week it was Porker’s turn. He always chose interesting movies. And the rest of the group always gave Peter a reason to smile. He wouldn’t miss it for the world.

___________________________________________________

“Hey, Peni, back off! It’s my turn to choose the movie!” Porker teased, playfully shoving Peni away from the DVD shelf. Gwen, Peter B, and Miles sat at a table in the kitchen, where Aunt May bustled about behind them from counter to counter, making popcorn and pouring soda into red plastic cups. All of the Spider-people were unmasked, and Sp//der sat in a corner contently watching the two smaller ones bicker. One, two, three, four, five people. One person was missing. Peter B was the first to notice the absence of the third B-Team member. They were supposed to start an hour ago, and the trench coat-wearing hero was nowhere to be found. PB began to grow worried for his friend.

“Hey, has anyone heard from Peter?” PB expressed his worry. Aunt May, Miles, and Gwen glanced around, their expressions slowly melting from relaxation to fear.

“No, now that you mention it; I haven’t seen him in.. two weeks, actually.. I don’t think any of us have.” Miles stuffed his hands into his pockets and shrugged. The other three nodded in agreement. Peter had missed two weeks of movie nights now; no one had heard or checked on him because they had just guessed that he was busy. But since he had previously expressed his love, or rather, need for this movie night, it was alarming that he would miss more than one week of movies. It was especially alarming to PB, who realized very quickly after they had met that there was more to Peter than there seemed to be.

Peni and Porker stumbled into the kitchen, giggling. They quickly stopped, however, when they noticed the tense environment of the room. Porker’s ears pricked up, scanning the room. “No Noir yet?” He tilted his head, a hint of disappointment in his voice. Gwen nodded.

“You noticed that Peter is gone, too?” She raised an eyebrow.

“Of course we did. The B-Team isn’t complete without our pal!” Porker put his hands on his hips, his expression shifting to one of sadness. The six present in the room all stood in silence, arms crossed and hands in pockets. PB couldn’t help but inhale sharply as he assumed the worst. The 1930s were a rough time, and getting injured with their lack of medical technology? It would be too easy for Peter to kick the bucket without much of a fuss.

“Y’know guys, we really should check on him. Not all of us, though, that may be a little too much for the guy. But, just to be safe, we’d better make sure he’s alright.” He folded his arms closer in on himself.

“Good idea. You and Porker probably know him best. Why don’t you two go and take a look?” Gwen suggested. Peter nodded in agreement.

“Alright. Hey, Porker, let’s go. We don’t have much time.” He waved Porker over to follow as they exited the back door into the backyard. The shorter hero hopped up onto Peter’s shoulder, whining, and softly snorted in worry.

“I hope Noir is alright..” He shook his head, affectionately referring to their missing friend with the nickname. After this, they said nothing as they entered Peter Parker’s old base, the platform whirring as they were lowered to the dark underground. PB walked up to the neon-lit panel in the back of the base and pressed the exact buttons Peni had demonstrated for them to get to another dimension. The two spidermen stepped into a glowing circle of light next to the panel, and before they knew it, light engulfed them. The two flew through the dimensions, webs of other universes swiftly passing them. Less than five seconds after this, the two were sent headfirst into a black and white alleyway. It was raining and dark, a stark contrast between their highly pigmented bodies. They glanced around, and after they realized they were still unmasked, PB groaned.

“Hey, Porker, you’d better get in my coat. Don’t think this place is used to to cartoons.” He chuckled, looking around at the bleak surroundings. PB opened a flap of his coat, where Porker rushed into, a cloud of dust swishing behind him. He looked down where Porker was hiding. No bump or anything. Right. Cartoon physics. Heading to where Peter’s apartment was located, PB marched up the stairs, the tile echoing throughout the stairway. It was totally silent, except for the rain beating down outside. About three flights of stairs up, a dark grey door with shiny light grey numbered read ‘12131’. It was Peter’s. PB grabbed the knocker and hit the door three times, loudly. No response. Porker came out from beneath PB’s green jacket.

“Y’think he’s busy?” The pig murmured.

“No. I can hear music from inside.” PB put an ear closer to the door. Muffled music quietly flowed throughout the inside of the apartment. Suddenly, the door opened. PB looked down, surprised, and saw Porker already marching inside.

“Peter?” PB closed the grey door behind him. The apartment was extremely organized; the floors were clean, the kitchen counters spotless, the tables void of newspaper or items that may clutter it up. Something was off, however. Everything in the room was grey, not a spot of color. It was very unlike Peter to be unwilling to have color, because the man absolutely loved to collect colorful items anytime he rolled around to other dimensions. There was no way that the apartment would be this grey.

“Hey, Ham. We sure this is Peter’s place?” PB called out quietly to the other, examining a monochrome painting of flowers on the wall. The other responded after several seconds.

“Yeah. Hey, uh, you may wanna take a look at this.” Porker stood in an open doorway, leading from the living room into a bedroom. PB quietly walked to the doorway and looked in after Porker, his mouth agape after he registered what he was saying. The room held Rubiks Cubes, flowers, plants, action figures, you name it. All collected from their dimensions, and all now shades of grey. Primarily what stuck out was a dresser with a large mirror attached to the top of it, a Rubiks cube in a glass container set neatly on top.

“Damn, this is an episode of Hoarders just waiting to happen.” PB huffed in a weak attempt at humor. And it was. The entire room was pretty much impossible to enter without stepping on something, even the bed was covered in items that were turned grey.

“Hey, fellas.” Said raspy voice behind them. PB and Porker spun around to see Peter, in a black turtleneck and large oval spectacles. His grey skin was pale, almost white by this point. The two stared on in shock at the tall, yet vulnerable hero standing in front of them.

“You found my room. Didn’t really intend for you to see it, but it’s too late now, I suppose.” He chuckled, shoving his hands into his khaki pants’ pockets.

“Is this stuff you brought here from our dimensions? Where is the color?!” Porker asked, looking from the room to Peter. Peter grimaced in reply. 

“Can’t really say. Every time I come back through dimensions with something colorful, it just goes back to normal. I haven’t really figured out a way to make it stay colorful, so it’s just been like this for months.” He shrugs in reply.

PB scans Peter’s body, still focusing on his frail, weak-looking form. He looked sickly; absolutely horrible. Not only was this an issue, but PB noticed something about Peter that was off. Very off.

“Hey, Noir. What happened to your hands there, buddy?” Porker asked, in a tone that was asking a question, yet clearly already knowing the answer. PB’s gaze went to Peter’s hands immediately.

“Oh my God, Peter, what did you do to yourself?!”


	2. The One Where Noir Feels Emotion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Porker and PB see something they probably shouldn’t have, and Peter tries not to let his emotions get the best of him. It doesn’t work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to add more angst to this chapter, but I thought it would be more appropriate if he were if a different setting. More angst next chapter, then.
> 
> Also, I didn’t look over this chapter either. Oops.

Peter Porker was worried, to say the absolute least. Not only had the cartoon just experienced the shock of finding Peter’s apartment in an extreme lack of color, but he had found all the items he’d been gifted were all grey as well. What’s more, the man’s hands had strange spots on them. He had been taught about these, but nothing that he’d ever seen outside of pictures. When he visited other dimensions, the other Spider-people taught him what several human injuries looked like.

On Peter, the marks were grey patches of darker color, dotted around his fingers in a checkered pattern. They were mostly on the fingertips and just below the thumb. His dimension didn’t let people get injuries like this, having cartoon physics and all that; however, as he’d visited other dimensions, he’d begun to understand a lot more than just his own physics. And a lot more than just his problems.

He’d learned from Miles that humans in other dimensions had something called ‘mental health’. It was extremely important, he’d been told. Especially to the spider-gang, because as Porker had learned, if mental health got too bad, it could possibly lead to a person trying to injure themselves. Porker could not understand why, but that did not stop him from helping whenever possible. In his dimension, everything was constantly happy and positive. This kind of thing never really came up for him. Based on what he’d been taught by Miles, though, it had become commonplace for the others, especially him and Gwen, to prevent things like this from happening every day. Porker didn't understand. He couldn’t understand. But now that he’d found Noir doing the exact thing he’d been taught about, he was terrified. And even more determined to help.

“Oh my god, Peter, what did you do to yourself?!” PB choked out.

”Burning matches. Told you right in my backstory.” Peter’s face drained of its remaining grey pigment. He took off his glasses and cleaned them the end of his turtleneck sweater. His eyes, now more visible, were dark and had shadows around them. Heavy bags.

PB’s brow furrowed as he huffed in frustration.

“You absolutely did not. You said you burned matches, not yourself.” 

A tense silence followed. Peter’s mouth became a thin line and his gaze met the floor. Porker scanned the other up and down, giving him a look of pity. If only he were a cartoon like him, then maybe he’d be a bit happier.

“Hey, pal?” Porker ran up Peter’s side with a motor noise in a cloud of dust, perching himself on the tall man’s shoulder,“Gimme your hand.” He directed. Peter obeyed, giving Porker his right hand, PB taking his left. The two sat there for a few minutes, closely examining the hands. The entire hand was covered in grey splotches that, to the touch, were rough and cold. More importantly, the tips of the thumb and index finger were charred. PB brushed his thumb against the spot, causing Peter to retract the hand quickly with a hiss. PB glanced up at Porker, who seemed defeated. The small cartoon let go of Peter’s hand and sat down on his shoulder, resting his elbows on his knees and cradling his chin in his hands. His feet dangled off like he was sitting on a chair that was a little too tall.

“Peter… This is serious.” 

Ironic, it seemed. The cartoon saying it’s a serious situation. Almost too funny. But this $#%@ wasn’t funny. If not for the situation they were in, he knew PB would have laughed out loud. He continued,“Why do you do this? I thought you liked hanging out with us. I thought you liked watching movies.”

“I do, I really do. But you guys… you make me feel…” Peter stopped to think, but it seemed like there was not a word that could describe what his emotions were telling him.

“Feel what?” PB and Porker made eye contact worriedly with one another.

“When I’m sitting with everyone, and we’re all together just… just loving one another… I get a feeling in my chest. Not a— Not a bad feeling. It just hurts. It reminds me of when my Uncle Benjamin was around and… I don’t like to think of those times.” Peter shook his head.

“Okay, okay,” PB clears his throat in discomfort and puts a hand on the other’s shoulder,”It’ll be alright, just— uh— just calm down a little bit. Why don’t we start with one thing at a time… Why do you do this to yourself?” PB motions towards Peter’s hand. It was shaking like a leaf. PB looked Peter in the eyes meaningfully, forcing himself through his discomfort.

“I don’t understand,” Peter responds,”I thought that the rest of you would have done something the same as this, but I suppose I was mistaken.” The other two inhale sharply, slightly caught off guard.

“Why would you think that?” PB’s voice is seeping with sadness, making Peter visibly shrink in on himself.

Peter shakes his head. There was a long silence between the three. Peter suddenly spoke after a few beats,“I promise I won’t let this bother you.”

The other two retracted in shock. 

“But you are! It will bother us until we know for sure you’re okay! We love you, Peter! We hate seeing you like this…” Porker cried. Peter felt a warm feeling in the corners of his eyes. He recognized what it was and swiped a hand up quickly to his cheek, wiping the tears away before the other two could see. It didn’t work.

“Peter, this isn’t like you. Everyone is worried sick,” PB sighs sadly,”We miss you, man.” Peter nods in response.

“I know.”

“So tell us. Please. Why do you do this?”

“...I want to feel something.” Peter wrung his hands together anxiously. He was clearly uncomfortable with being this vulnerable in front of them,”I haven’t been facing what I’ve had to deal with to so I just kind of… do this instead? I guess I’d rather feel pain than facing my emotions.” He chuckled.

“Ah, so we’re going with the old ‘tell, don’t show’ rule I see… Listen, Peter, I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. You’re the oldest person in our group, so you of all people should know that the hardest thing about this job is that you can’t always save everybody. It’s hard, but you just have to let go.” Porker sniffled, his voice trembling.

Peter nods,”I understand.”

“Alright. Let’s go talk to the others. They’re probably waiting on us.” PB smiles, putting an arm around Peter’s shoulders. Porker leapt onto Peter’s other shoulder and hugged his head, seemingly close to tears. PB adjusted the wristband that Peni had given them to help them travel through dimensions. He pressed a button, and soon enough, they were in Aunt May’s living room, the four that were still waiting on them staring at their sudden return. Peter folded his arms in on his body, tucking his hands away.

“I’m not ready for this.” He mumbled.


	3. The One Where Peter is on the Edge of a Building

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nori has a panic attack. Peni cries. Noir blasts. That’s about it.
> 
> TW for implied suicidal thoughts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was written in two hours. And I didn’t review this chapter either. Oops.
> 
> Please comment and kudos, I get 5 years added to my life when you do. Also, trigger warning for implied suicidal thoughts. I have no clue if this is in character for Mr. Noir, so please be honest in the comments. Much love! <3

After everyone had calmed down from Peter’s sudden return, an awkward silence hung between them. No one asked a question, and Peter didn’t dare to just suddenly flood the others with his problems. So no one said a word, sitting around the living room (well, all the Peters were standing) and staring at their feet, a wall, a random object on a shelf, anywhere but each other’s faces.

Peter B huffed and glanced over at Peter, scanning him up and down. The man had taken his gloves out of his pocket and put them back on. His mouth moved into a thin line in disapproval. Looking at the others around him and their worried expressions, his stomach dropped.

The kids deserve an explanation. So does Aunt May. Peter must be feeling overwhelmed. It’s my responsibility to make this all better.

He couldn’t bear to see them in such despair. He was supposed to do something. And so he cleared his throat to get everyone’s attention. At the sudden noise, everyone jumped, then subsequently relaxed. The tension lessened at his words.

“So, Peter, do you mind telling us what happened?” He looked at Peter with a meaningful expression clouding his face. Peter shrugged.

“What is there to say?”

Peter B tensed at this.

“I— We just—“ Peter B stuttered. Not the response he expected. “I can do it for you. If you want.”

“Of course. Thank you, Peter.” The monochrome one responded, slowly taking a step back and allowing Peter B to inform the others on what had happened. 

He backed into the kitchen, sitting at the kitchen table with his back turned to the living room. The murmuring was driving the man crazy. Endless talking. Hearing the hissing of the S’s and the sharp cutting of the C’s and K’s in the distance; different voices overlapped one another and Peter held his head in his hands, rubbing his temples with his fingers.

You really messed up this time, eh, Peter?

He could hear that old voice, the Goblin, in his head. Sneering at him. And suddenly he was back in that dank alleyway, struggling for the breath that he had lost at the sight of the Goblin’s face ripping off into something evil, hideous. As his vision fades, Goblin’s screams in the distance, he sharply inhales as his mind is thrust into another memory. He’s suddenly standing up again, no longer fighting for his life in an alley.

The hallway outside Aunt May’s apartment.

There was crying. Not quite weeping, more of a shaky whimper, a sniffle, and a question that melted into a sob of pure grief and despair. It was Aunt May. He suddenly remembers where he is. He busts through the door of her apartment. She’s walking, crying, and Vulture jumps down from the rafters. She’s on the ground, Vulture sneers as his vile mouth opens to do the unthinkable. 

No. No. Not again. Please god, not again!

His mouth moves on it’s own. There are menacing words exchanged, a threat, maybe a rejection, but he doesn’t quite know what his mouth is saying, he can just make out a quick “No.” mumbled out.

He didn’t know what he was doing and he had no control of his movements and his hand suddenly goes to his gun holster and he’s pulling the trigger and—

BANG

Suddenly he’s back in Aunt May’s house. Not his Aunt May’s. The other one.

Everyone is standing around Peter, arms out in front of them defensively. His gun is webbed to the ceiling. They are breathing heavily, implying a struggle.. 

And he may have just put two and two together.

Oh.

Oh shit.

“I am sorry.” He stands up straight, as does everyone else. He looks around, from one person to another. They all look concerned. He blew it. They all knew. But one person did not look as concerned. If anything she looked absolutely devastated. Peni. Oh god.

Peni looked heartbroken.

Hair a mess, eyes watery and red, her chin shook even now as he stared down at her. He couldn’t hear anything or anyone but the blood rushing to his head. Peni was the last person he had wanted to find this out about him. What had he been thinking? Did he think she would take it lightly? For god’s sake, this kid had been through too much shit. Her father died, and now her father figure was trying to die on her as well.

This is too much. This is too much. I cannot do this.

“I am sorry.” Peter felt himself repeat. Then he bolted.

The front door screeched open and wind roared past his face as he ran down the neighborhood sidewalk. He could hardly hear the others behind him, screaming for him to come back. Nothing could stop him. He had failed Peni, he had failed his Aunt May, he had failed this Aunt May, and everyone else he knew. As he made it to the outskirts of the city, he rolled up his sleeve slightly and whipped a web up to the top of a building. He winced slightly in pain as the webbing released itself out of the slit on his wrist. This should be normal. It shouldn’t hurt.

Oh, just like being reprimanded by Aunt May shouldn’t hurt? Like scaring his friends shouldn’t hurt? Like failing Peni time and time again shouldn’t hurt? He shouldn’t be here. This world wasn’t supposed to have him in it. Maybe no world should.

His legs intertwined at his ankles as he settled on the side of a tall mustard-colored building. It seemed familiar, but he was unsure of why. Cars rushed by below, the dark night sky of New York illuminated with billboards and street signs. So many colors he has not understood or learned yet. It didn’t matter though. Not where he was going to be soon. The colors had to go; it forced him to pine for something he had not previously wanted. Yearning for something he did not need to know about.

Peter’s world needed a cold, calculating hero. Not someone who let the mere sight of a shade brighter than grey get under his skin. His world did not need to have him if he was this way. Nothing could heal him. 

His friends were frightened of him. His friends were terrified of him. 

There was no way. 

But just how they looked at him...

And Peni. He had made Peni cry. He had made Peni cry. He had made PENI cry.

This alone was enough to send a tear cascading down the side of his face. 

What was this, a drama movie? No. This had to be over soon.

Peter shuffled himself back onto the roof, standing up. He promptly turned around and went to a taller building, climbing onto the edge. The wind rushed clear up here, and of course, his face was still unmasked. The cold sidewalk below practically sang to him, practically beckoning for him to come closer. He stands on the edge.

The distant sounds of the city are drowned out by Porker’s voice behind him, ringing over everything else that may be plaguing his mind.

“Hey, Pete. So you’re here now. What’s your plan?”


	4. The One Where It Snows

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Noir needs saving.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last chapter! I hope y’all enjoyed this story, i worked hard on it lol yikes

“What do you want, Porker?” Peter mutters through his teeth. He gazes over the edge of the building, hands propping himself up on a stone ledge; the only thing separating himself from stopping the pain.

“You ran out back there. They sent me out after you.” Peter hears the cartoon take a few steps closer behind him,”Saw you swinging from that building to this one. ‘S higher up. And cold. Any reason why you chose this one? And be serious.”

Peter let out a breathy chuckle,“I think you already know,” The air was cold, Peter realized. A puff of warm air escaped his mouth.

A growl came from the spider behind him,“Peter, I might seem like a comedy relief character, but when I say I’m serious, I’m serious.” His voice was getting dangerously close to him.

“And I’m serious when I say that you need to get away from me.”

“Not until you’re safe.”

Peter felt the other’s hand on his shoulder; The sudden contact caused Peter to flinch away, startled. He spun around and saw his friend with his hand pulled back to his chest. Peter’s heart dropped and felt the familiar prick of tears at the corners of his eyes.

Peter turns around and thwips to another building. A surprised noise echoes from Porker in the distance. Peter loses his balance and falls to another roof, groaning in pain. He looks around. The pig was nowhere in sight. Peter struggled to his knees. He reached into his coat pocket and pulls out a small box of matches.

“Pete, if you’re doing what I think you’re doing…” A voice came from behind him. Before he could do anything, Porker shoots a web on Peter’s back and whips him around, his face falling when he sees what he is holding. He webs the box out of his hands and tosses it off the side of the building.

Peter studies the others’ expression. It was now that he realized the other was unmasked, and his face was in clear view for the first time since they had met. He was a color… that was lighter than red, but not white. It was like a white film had been placed over the color red. His eyes were black, but darkened by the grief-stricken emotion that was present on his face.

Porker and Peter maintained eye contact, miserable faces staring at one another in pain.

“I’m sorry,” Peter quietly muttered,”That you have to see me like this. I just want to know you’re okay. I hurt everyone that gets close to me; You don’t deserve what could happen to you if you keep caring about me.”

The web unraveled from around him and Porker turned around, sighing. Peter walks to the edge of the building. No ledge on this one. Just a straight drop-off.

“We don’t like seeing you like this Peter. We don’t care how dangerous you are. We want to help you, because we’re friends.”

Four more people landed on the roof. Oh, god. Now everyone was here; probably Peni too. She couldn’t see him like this, he’ll scare her, probably end up hurting her, and he’ll make everyone leave him, break his dimensional travel bracelet and leave him in his cold, colorless world, alone. He’ll be back to square one, fending for himself, hated by everyone who he thought he could depend on, his friends in his dimension all dead; there was no going back, it was all over. It was over, he couldn’t even trust himself around these people—

“Peter! Hey! Peter!”

Peter returned to reality, stumbling backwards. Peter B yelps and steps forward,catching him by the arm and pulling him up. Gwen, Miles, and Peni sat further away behind Peter B, the pig standing just beside him. The kids didn’t have to see this. They shouldn’t.

“What are the kids doing here?” Peter hissed at Peter B, who took a step away, sighing.

“They’re worried, if you haven’t noticed. We all are, man.”

“You should have let me fall.” Peter shot back. He shouldn’t be upset like this. They’re just trying to help.

“I would never. Why the hell would you say that? We’re lucky we found you before—“

“Before what, Parker? Before I did more damage to myself? You don’t know what could happen if you let me around you much longer. I could hurt you. I could kill you. You don’t understand. I. Could. Kill. You.”

Peter B looks down at the ground.

“You’re pushing us away. On purpose.” He sighs, looking back up to Peter’s face,”We love you, and we want you to be safe.”

“It’s not about me. You’re the ones who need to be safe. And you can’t do that with me around. Why do you think I stayed in my dimension for so long?”

“Peter, it’s like your motivation totally changed or something. We will help you get through whatever is hurting you, and we will get you away from that ledge. But you can’t push us away, or things will never get better. Trust me. I would know.”

A noise came from behind them. Peni jumped out of Sp//der and walked up behind Peter B, shivering from the cold.

“Mr. Parker? Please come away from there.” Her teeth chattered. She folded her arms around her torso. Peter suddenly wished he had brought his coat.

“Peni, I don’t know if I can. I don’t want to see you hurt because of me.”

“You’ve never hurt me, Mr. Parker. You never will. Unless you jump.” She took a few steps closer,”Please don’t leave me. Please.” 

Tears were at the corners of her eyes.

Wind roared and snow began to fall.

“Come here. Please.”

Peter crouched down to Peni’s height as she approached him slowly. He reaches out his arms for Peni to come closer. When she got close enough, he pulled her into an hug. She hesitated, then hugged back.

“You mean the world to me, okay, Peni? I don’t want to hurt you, but if staying here is what it takes for you to be happy, then I will stay.”

Peni tightens her embrace, shaking. Tears wet his shoulder as she buries her head into the collar of his turtleneck. It’s so cold and loud that it takes a moment for Peter to realize she’s crying. Nothing else mattered right now but their embrace. A warm feeling that was vaguely familiar began to grow in his chest.

About thirty seconds passed.

“Hey, you two, let’s get back to Aunt May’s. It’s cold out.” Peter B quietly said; he tapped Peter on the shoulder. As Peter started to let go of Peni, her hug tightened. He chuckled and opted to pick her up instead. The five spider-people thwipped away from the building, back to Aunt May’s house. 

Porker swung beside Peter.

“Hey, thanks for stickin’ around. You don’t know what I’ve lost, but if you left, then..” He grimaced,”I don’t think it would be the same. You’re too special. I love you, and Peni really does, too.”

He gives Peter a smile and swings away. Peter smiles to himself and gazes down at Peni, whose eyes and closed and head is still buried in his shoulder.

Through the wind and chill, Peter heard Peni mumble..

“I love you, Dad.”

Was she asleep?

_______________________________________

Alright, let’s do this one last time.

Peter Benjamin Parker was from another dimension, and from another line of thinking that caused him to take up a… very strange habit.. He thought everyone else in the spider-group had done something similar. But he was wrong. Rather, they feared for him based on what he’d done. Everyone else seemed happy, full of emotion. Full of color. Full of life. They’d moved on. And maybe, since they now knew what he was truly thinking, they could help him move on, too.

The scars on his hand felt like they were from so long ago.


End file.
